When The World Comes Down
by HHHereComesTrouble
Summary: When your life is crumbling to pieces, sometimes the only friend you can find lies within your sworn enemy...HHH/Steph. One-shot.


Random inspiration to write a one-shot. I'm out of town so I apologize for any mistakes. They'll be fixed when I'm back home. Would love to hear your thoughts!

* * *

_Here's another pity_

_And there's another chance_

_Try to learn a lesson_

_But you can't._

A solitary tear trickled down her cheek as she gazed at the framed photo with glossy eyes. Her fingers brushed over the glass gently. A light wince escaped her mouth when the pads of her fingertips made contact with the crack straight down the middle.

Stephanie sighed before placing the frame back down on her desk. The picture was taken at a much happier time - a time before her family had fallen to pieces. They were all seated around a table with their arms lovingly draped over one another. The grins they wore on their faces were big and bright. They were all beaming with pride, seeing that it was Stephanie's high school graduation night. Her parents, her father especially, couldn't be more proud of their baby girl.

If she'd known then what she knew now, well...she couldn't change her fate, but she could have made better use of the cards life had dealt to her. Maybe she wouldn't be a part of the predicament she was in now: the father-daughter "I Quit" match.

_If we can burn a city_

_In futures and in past,_

_Without a change our lives will never last._

_Cause we're going fast._

Stephanie openly grimaced. Her knees trembled as the minimal strength she had left disappeared. The more she dwelled on it, the more sick and cruel the reality of it became. She let herself succumb to the weakness until she was sitting uncomfortably on the office carpet. God, she would do anything for a normal life. Was a loving family too much to ask for nowadays?

Between her cheating father, her interfering mother, her hotheaded brother, and...Sable, the corporate slut who clung to her father like a lingering disease, Stephanie didn't really have anyone anymore. They were all too self absorbed in destroying each other that they were only a family by blood and name. Their hearts, however, were empty and distant.

And even though Stephanie wasn't any better than them, at least she genuinely cared about the people she called her family at the end of the day - despite their flaws and errors. If something severe were to happen to any of them, she would be heartbroken. She just wasn't sure she could say the same for anyone else. So that left her with one burning question brewing in her mind.

Did anyone care about her? Would anyone even notice if she was gone one day?

The fact that the answer was still unknown caused her hot tears to reemerge. She was still a little girl underneath the maniacal woman she'd grown into. She still longed to be held and have someone tell her that she was special. And as she sat there on the floor curled up in a tight ball, she even still looked like a child.

Her blonde strands hung low and shielded her face like a thick curtain. Her cheeks were rosy and swollen. The plush floor underneath her was damp from her falling tears. Stephanie wrapped her arms around her knees, almost as if she were cradling herself. It wasn't like anybody else would.

But the sound of someone clearing their throat drew her away from her thoughts. Feeling overly self-conscious that she was bawling uncontrollably with an apparent audience nearby, she wiped at her eyes. Reluctantly, she lifted her head to meet gazes with her unexpected visitor. And even then, she had to do a double take to confirm that her vision wasn't failing her.

"Hunter?" she asked. He nodded uneasily. Of course it had to be him; there was no one who even came close to matching him in appearance. Stephanie only knew one person with hazel eyes, long golden locks, and that muscular build. Her former husband was truly one of a kind. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I sit down?"

She swallowed before nodding her head. What in the world did he want? The last few encounters they had were over a year ago and those were far from civil. If her memory served her correctly, she had nearly murdered his dog while he was responsible for the destruction of her prized Corvette. The fact that he had spoken to her in such a soft, gentle tone was shocking. Perhaps this was another form of trickery on his part. He was working for Bischoff after all... She swore if he gave her hives again, there would be hell to pay. But her expression of distrust flickered to one of curiosity as he joined her on the floor.

"You're welcome to sit in any of the chairs, you know," she offered.

Hunter smiled tentatively. "No thanks. Comfortable furniture is overrated."

She laughed out loud at his remark, but was somehow touched that he'd opted to sitting on the floor rather than in one of the leather office chairs. Clearly, he came with intentions of talking to her. And even though it was starting out well, Stephanie knew that it was only a matter of time before this conversation plummeted downward. Lighthearted jokes couldn't conceal their rotten personalities that were more than capable of clashing. They had the bad habit of surrendering to their old bickering routine.

"Man, things have changed," Hunter stated as he glanced around the room.

"They have," she agreed.

Stephanie had transformed from the nagging, ringside wife to the professional, conniving SmackDown general manager. Hunter had matured personality-wise, as well as added a few more titles to his expanding list.

"Can I ask you something?" He ran his fingers through his moist hair. That used to be a sign of frustration or nervousness. Now, Stephanie could only assume what it meant - for the man before her was merely a stranger.

"Sure."

"Do you miss it?" She tilted her head to one side. He caught knowledge of her bewilderment and continued on. "The way things used to be?"

She snickered. "You mean before my father made it his goal to rid the world of my existence? Although, I'm beginning to think it would be better off without me..." Her voice trailed off. She picked at imaginary lint on her black sweater before realizing she hadn't provided an answer to Hunter's question yet. "I do miss it. Yes. Do you?"

She watched him shut his eyes for a brief moment before parting his lips to speak.

"Honestly, I don't."

Stephanie frowned. She secretly hoped his answer would be yes. She wanted him to admit that he'd made an awful mistake and wanted her back. But her life was nowhere near being a fairytale, so that was bound not to happen.

"The past is over and done with," he said quietly. His brownish-gold eyes scanned the spotless floor before meeting with Stephanie's. "There are things to look forward to in the future."

"Speak for yourself."

"What do you mean?"

Stephanie exhaled loudly. He just wouldn't understand. He couldn't. While his career took off immensely, hers had engaged in a downward spiral. Devestation and pain were always around the corner. For her, the future held nothing of desire.

"Face it, Hunter. You're the only one with something to look forward to. You have the world at your feet and all I've got is a father who wants to beat then fire my ass."

"The world at my feet?" he scoffed. "I'm the most hated man in the company. The only thing I've got at my feet is a growing line of people who want to put me six feet under."

"But it's always been that way...and it's never bothered you before."

"Because you were by my side back then." Hunter scooted closer to her until their faces were only separated by inches of distance. "Now I have nobody. Even Shawn hates my guts. I'm a lone wolf these days.."

_You can sit beside me when the world comes down,_

_If it doesn't matter then just turn around._

_We don't need our bags and we can just leave town._

_You can sit beside me when the world comes down._

Stephanie felt her body tense with heat. She could feel his breaths brush against her sensitive skin. He was so close, but not close enough. Extinct feelings of lust and want returned. Her attraction to Hunter was something that had never subsided. She'd just forgotten about it while they were apart for so long. Now that he was here in front of her though, her nerves tingled with anticipation.

"My life's falling apart, Steph," he hushed. "And no one understands. I knew you were going through something similar...and I just wanted someone to talk to. You understand me. You always have."

She felt her eyes grow wet with unshed tears - not because she loved this man and missed him more than anything, but because she felt for him. Their lives were scraping the bottom of the barrel and when it came down to it, they only had each other. They were capable of breaking each other's hearts beyond repair, but healing them when necessary.

_We say_

_And we do_

_All the lies_

_The truth_

_And all I need is next to me._

"Promise me something, Hunter."

"No weddings involved?"

She chuckled and brought her hand up to caress his stubbly cheek. "No weddings."

"Then, anything."

"Hold me. Sit beside me when the world comes down."

A sweet smile formed on his lips. His eyes were filled with affection and she felt as if their hearts had joined as one. Stephanie forgot all about her dysfunctional family as Hunter put his huge arm around her shoulders.

"Only if you stand by me until that day arrives."

Stephanie smiled, too, and even more so when his lips softly pressed against her temple. It was a symbol of hope. The future wasn't looking too bad after all. Had their relationship once self-destructed at the hands of their stupidity? Maybe so. Was she willing to give it another go? Definitely. And it appeared as if Hunter was, too. Her hand moved to grab hold of his and give his fingers a gentle squeeze. She leaned her head into the crook of his neck before closing her eyes contently.

_You can sit beside me when the world comes...down._


End file.
